The present invention relates to application licenses within a cloud or other infrastructure, and more specifically, to a system and methods for allocation or reallocation of application licenses within a cloud or other infrastructure based on a defined priority of users according to a business function or value.
With reference now to FIG. 1, an existing cloud environment 100 comprises a license control system 105, which includes a plurality of virtual machines (VM1, VM2, . . . ) 110, a purchased license pool 115, and a bubble license pool 120. License management capabilities are limited, for example, in the ability to establish a quantity of licenses and to identify when licenses are exhausted. Typically, a quantity of licenses of a number of users 125 is purchased and additional licenses are required should a maximum threshold be reached. Warnings or alerts may be sent to a user administrator 130 and/or a cloud administer 135.
However, there remains a need to prioritize license usage by business function or value. The present invention provides an active license management environment with a license control system which monitors license usage, provides warning thresholds, prioritizes users based on importance of business function, and enables hibernation and restoration of functionality.